Ford Theatre
Ford Theatre, spelled Ford Theater for the original radio version and known, in full, as The Ford Television Theatre for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s. At various times the television series appeared on all three major television networks, while the radio version was broadcast on two separate networks and on two separate coasts. Ford Theatre was named for its sponsor, the Ford Motor Company, which had an earlier success with its concert music series, The Ford Sunday Evening Hour (1934–42).
This article is about the drama anthology series. For other uses, see Ford Theatre (disambiguation).Genre
1 hour
United States
English
Ford Theatre
NBC: Howard Lindsay
CBS: Nelson Case
NBC: Numerous radio actors
CBS: Numerous Hollywood stars
NBC: Will Glickman, Charles Gussman, Lillian Schoen, Stanley Evans
CBS: Hugh Kemp, Brainerd Duffield
NBC: George Zachary
CBS: Fletcher Markle
NBC: New York City
CBS: Hollywood
2
78
Monaural sound
Radio[edit]
Ford Theater as a radio series lasted for only two seasons. Its first season was broadcast from New York City on NBC with such actors as Ed Begley, Shirley Booth, Gary Merrill, Everett Sloane and Vicki Vola. This season ran from October 5, 1947, to June 27, 1948. Due to poor ratings, Ford moved the show to Hollywood[1] and CBS Radio for the second season, where top Hollywood actors headed the casts. This season, which lasted from October 8, 1948, to July 1, 1949, received much higher ratings. However, with television rising in popularity, Ford decided to end its radio show and focus solely on television.
Howard Lindsay became the program's master of ceremonies on October 5, 1947.[2]
The Ford Television Theatre
United States
8
245
24–26 minutes
Ford Motor Company (Live episodes)
Screen Gems Television (Filmed episodes)
October 17, 1948 –
June 26, 1957
Radio
Television